I sort of hoped that I'd be able to keep up on my blog during our trip to Utah. But obviously that didn't work out. There were just too many fun things going on to take the time to write about them at the time. So now I'm going to try to recap the 18 days (yes, 18 days!) of our vacation as quickly as possible. It's a good thing I like writing because this is also the month I plan on starting to write for my travel blog. Lets get started!
Day 3 was scheduled as a down day so we could recover from our drive. I spent the morning working on my blog post about our awesome drive to Utah.
The kids bundled up and went out to play in my parents
cold storage family room.
The sun was shinning in through the glass doors so it wasn't that cold out there.
Brandon's parents stopped by in the afternoon so they could spend a little bit of time with the kids. I was kind of worried that the kids wouldn't recognize Steve and Jacque. They've had patchy internet this past year so, unlike my parents, we haven't skyped with them at all. But as soon as Jacque walked in the girls said, "Bestemor!" and ran to her. I felt like I passed some sort of good daughter-in-law test.
Jacque brought the ornaments that she painted for us all this year. They were spoons with cute little pictures on them.
Veronica spent about 15 minutes looking at my dad's screen saver of grandchildren pictures.
My dad and Brandon took the girls shopping for fun food to eat during our visit.
They didn't take Derrick, but he was at the store anyway. Or at least his doppelganger was. The Smiths stores in Utah all have big signs with a picture of a kid who looks a lot like Derrick.
Friday evening we took the kids with us to dinner at our friends Jake and Heidi's house. Jake and Heidi have two kids named Natalie and Calvin who are close in age to our kids. They all had fun playing together. We had dinner, talked, and completely forgot to take any pictures. I discovered poppy seed salad dressing and my life has never been the same.
Day Four was a Saturday and we had adventures in Ogden planned for the afternoon. Brandon and I got up early and did some Christmas shopping without the kids. We bought each other jeans and some other accessories. The kids stayed home with my parents and helped make pancakes.
They also had lots of fun jumping on my parents bed.
Brandon and I came home from the store and we all piled into our Honda. I squeezed myself between Charlotte and Lydia's cart seats. Fortunately I didn't have to sit there for long. We were going to Ogden, but we were going to travel two different ways to get there.
The girls, my dad, and I all got out at the Murray Frontrunner Station. Brandon, my mom, Derrick, and Veronica all stayed in the Honda and drove to Ogden,
We bought our tickets and waited for the train. The girls were so excited when they saw it coming down the tracks. We got on and found our seats. First we sat on the lower deck, but we moved up to the upper deck when it was less crowded.
The girls had lots of fun looking at the maps and looking out the window. After about 20 minutes the novelty wore off and we all just kind of sat there for the next 20 minutes. But it was still really fun.
Riding the train was my dad's idea. At first I thought it would be more hassle than it would be worth. But then I decided that it would also be a really great experience for the kids. Plus I have always wanted to ride on the top level of the Frontrunner train so that is why I decided we should go.
We got off the train in Odgen. I recognized a fellow passenger as my friend Deanna. She was the Relief Society of the branch we lived in when the girls were born. She couldn't believe how grown up the girls were.
We couldn't talk long because we had to meet up with everyone at the Ogden Union Station Building which was right next to the Frontrunner stop.
We walked over there. Brandon was already there as were his parents. My friend Melissa and her daughter Heidi were there too because they live in Ogden and I'd invited them along on our adventure. I took a minute to nurse Veronica while everyone patiently waited. Then we put her on our carseat/umbrella stroller hybrid and went into the train museum.
Brandon and I came to this museum 7 years ago when we were dating. We had a lot of fun on that date and we've always had great memories of the museum. This time it was really fun to bring our kids. 7 years ago we could never have imagined that our family would look like this one day.
Derrick was in heaven. He ran around pointing to everything and shrieking with happiness.
There were lots of things to look at and touch. Here we are up in the top of a real caboose car.
Then it was time for my favorite part - the model train! Everyone enjoyed looking at the train, but I think Derrick liked it most of all. His Bestefar held him and carried him around so he could see the train travel through the whole display.
We finished up with the train museum and checked out some of the other displays. Melissa and Heidi had lots of fun with us. I'm so glad they came with.
We were all hungry so it was time to eat. We'd brought pre-made sandwiches and I just kind of planned to find somewhere to eat. But the whole winter thing through me off. We ended up driving a few blocks up to my in-laws cottage and eating the sandwiches there.
Then we drove back down to down town Ogden to see the Christmas Village.
I had to nurse Veronica so I stayed behind in the car while everyone else went exploring. I'm glad we invited all the grandparents along because they helped keep track of all our kids.
Every thing was really cute. We got there about 4:45 and it wasn't very crowded yet. We were even able to go on a free horse drawn hay ride without waiting in line for very long. The wagon took us up 25th street. We sang Christmas songs as we rode. It was really pretty and magical.
At one point all of my kids were all sitting on someones lap on my side of the wagon.
The wagon took us down to the train station and then back.
Then we got out and the kids were able to pet the horses. Brandon turned to me and said, "Best Christmas EVER!"
It was so magical feeling.
Just when it couldn't get any better the kids noticed some reindeer. They ran over to them and stared in wonder for a long time. Even my mom asked, "reindeer are real?"
There were more displays to see, but it was getting cold. We figured it really couldn't get any better than a hay ride and reindeer anyway. So we went back to the cars, said goodbye everyone, and drove back to my parents house.
The kids all fell asleep on the way home. When we got back we changed them into their pajamas and put them all to bed in the back bedroom. It had been a great day!
Heidi Anne said it was "The BEST Adventure EVER!"
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